Spackle the 74mm housing. That should get it down to size.

 

I've got a 363/74 on the shelf but was excited about a 68mm T4.

 

I think that will serve you quite well TBH. Possibly better than a 363/68 Turbonator.

 

Thinking it over, not 100% convinced on going back to a 63/74.

 

Looking more into the 71mm version as well. Smack dab in between the 68mm and 74mm. Only thing is I would need to convert my turbo to a 71mm. I may just go this route.

 

I wish this product had been developed by a more "industrial/professional" outfit. I mean I don't know much about them but their presentation feels more like "soup up your truck" type marketing vs charts, facts, figures, overview of the mechanics.

 

^^^This...

If it had been developed by a more professional outfit, I would probably have one installed in my truck by now.

 

A selection of honest sales pitches by more industrial/professional outfits making the Turbonator:

Boeing:
We will squander our goodwill with NHTSA and self-certify a Turbonator that will make your truck crash inexplicably due to software glitches that even amateurs would not code.

Dell:
We will only provide technical support if you are a corporate customer and have bought at least a thousand Turbonators.

Dodge:
Hold my beer.

Edit: Maybe it’s time to establish FTN Industries GmbH.😱

 

That was very entertaining and factual at the same time.

 

To their defense the advertising is on par with most of the diesel aftermarket, although the product cost is higher.

​​

 

That's the problem specifically.

[prepare for incoming rant]

If I want to make a major modification to a system on the truck the boutique diesel aftermarket is usually the last place I'll look to accomplish what I want to do. There are some companies that do have a pool of well designed components that have tangible benefit but those are the exception vs the rule. Even then, when not counting all the drop shipped parts, most of the in house products have a flavor of life style branded stuff that you can show off on social media/youtube, catering to those who treat their vehicle like a projection of themselves vs a hunk of metal that has a job to do before it disintegrates and returns to the earth.

Like most of the places offer some kind of CCV mod in various forms. Who knows if they will work as advertised or have a tangible benefit, or what performance configurations they'll accommodate. I opted to retrofit a Racor because I can get pages and pages of information on the thing, it's operating parameters, installation requirements, drawings to help me understand how it works and what effect it's going to have on the system as a whole. Whenever you're changing things from stock, the more technical information you can get, the better you can plan out the bigger picture and prevent unwelcome surprises.

Thing is, the Racor is expensive. Most commercial type solutions are as R&D and consistency are costly. if you're reaching commercial level price point but still have that aftermarket vibe... doesn't instill confidence IMO. It says to me "lot of money for a lot of unknown variables".

 

TBH, even the vendors at the top levels of racing have a slightly fly-by-night feel to them. These are all niche manufacturers by definition.

 

Took the Turbonator apart today for inspection after about 3 months of trouble-free (knock on wood) operation with the new unison ring. Soot contamination was about as expected but distributed in an unexpected fashion. I expected the groove that the unison ring sits in to be full of soot but it was not. Only the surface of the faceplate covering the unison ring chamber was covered in soot. I also discovered the holes that the vanes' axles rotate in on the other end is actually a donut of stainless steel set into the cast iron housing.

After cleaning all the soot off I sprayed any surfaces that see movement with the tungsten disulfide dry lube. It made all the parts look sooty again but with a much lighter gray.

Pictures before cleaning:



Pictures after cleaning and lubing:

 

The "unknown variables" part that you mentioned goes back to the link that I posted in my VGT thread. So the unknown variable would be; How long does a non-vgt turbine wheel last in a VGT turbo? It never crossed my mind until I kept digging trying to find information on my project. Then I recalled installing an aftermarket 10 blade turbine in a 6.7 and saying to myself "wow, the blades on this turbine are substantially thicker than what I recall seeing.". After that thought I went and measured a VGT turbine and an s300 and there are some key differences in the thickness of the inducer blade edges. I'm not trying to poo-poo the Turbonator by any means but I think it is very important to note that it uses a straight vane turbine in a VGT application. That may or may not lead to hard part failures that are unintended or unexpected.

 

Hey you’re not hurting my feelings by speaking the truth. I am not a Turbonator cheerleader by any means. I went into this a hopeful cynic i.e. I was hopeful it would work but fully aware it might not and was ready to dump it if I no longer saw a way forward with it. So far I am pleased that hope seems to be winning.